Oral health disparities in New York State.

New York State population is diverse, with a large proportion of racial and ethnic minorities. The poverty rate is two- to three-times higher among minorities. Oral diseases are higher among low-income and/or less-educated groups and in racial and ethnic minorities. The use of dental services is also lower. Eliminating disparities in oral health will require enhanced efforts at preventing disease, promoting health and delivering appropriate care. It will also require a thorough understanding of the lower use of already available effective preventive and treatment services, and additional interventions to address the identified causes. Many initiatives have been undertaken in New York State to address these disparities.

The New York State Minority Health Survey: determinants of oral health care utilization.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the factors associated with visits to a dentist and more specifically the role of dental insurance coverage and to explore the reasons for not visiting a dentist among minorities in New York State. METHODS: The Minority Health Survey was a one-time, statewide, random digit-dialed telephone survey. We drew a directed acyclic graph (DAG) of the potential determinants of oral health care utilization for our population of interest and modeled the independent variables as determinants of oral health care utilization. The data for this study were analyzed in SUDAAN using appropriate weights and variance adjustments that accounted for the complex sampling design. Hence, this report is generalizable to the New York State adult "minority" population. RESULTS: About 63 percent respondents had visited a dentist in the past one year. Having dental insurance (adjusted odds ratio [adj OR]=2.5), having more than high school education (adj OR=1.9), being younger (adj OR=2.3 for 18-25 years vs age 40 years or older), being married (adj OR=1.7), being dentate (adj OR=0.3 for edentulousness), and having higher income (adj OR=0.5 for middle vs high income) were significantly associated with having visited a dentist in the past year. Cost and awareness-related factors were the most common reasons for not visiting a dentist. Most of the year 2000 oral health objectives measurable in this survey were not met. CONCLUSION: Increasing dental insurance coverage and increasing awareness about oral health care would be the two biggest factors in meeting the goals of year 2010.

Early childhood caries-related visits to hospitals for ambulatory surgery in New York State.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess the utilization of ambulatory surgery at hospitals for the treatment of early childhood caries in New York State. METHODS: Data for this study came from the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System in New York State. We analyzed 16,149 oral health-related ambulatory surgeries performed between 1996 and 1999 in children younger than 6 years of age. RESULTS: Between 1996 and 1999, the rate of hospitalization for dental caries in children younger than 6 years of age ranged from 180 to 193 cases per 100,000. Approximately two-thirds of the visits by children younger than 6 years old were due to dental caries. The highest rate was observed in 3-year-old children (346.5). The most frequent type of procedure performed was placement of stainless steel crowns. Medicaid was the primary source of reimbursement. CONCLUSIONS: These data illustrate that, although dental caries is preventable, it continues to be a significant problem in young children and results in a large number of ambulatory surgery visits.